Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
The short version: over the past 12 months, gold-rated large-blend and intermediate-term bond funds have outperformed their benchmark indices. Golden large-growth and large-value funds also outperformed the S&P 500. No word on how they performed against their peers. And no word on whether they also outperformed silver, bronze ...
For me, the jury is still out. These ratings are supposedly predictors of long-term future performance. Anything can happen over a 1-2 year period of time. There are a bunch of so-called gold ratings that have gotten smashed in the last couple of months, too. The current volatility's effects on specific funds has more to do with sectors, manager strategy, and global positioning than whether a fund has a gold, silver, bronze, or aluminum foil rating. Just look at PCRDX, which is near the bottom of the pack in its asset class. The hocus-pocus derivatives and TIPS in the fund, combined with a rough time for commodity prices, has been a blow to shareholders over the last year, even more so year to-date.
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David